In the last four years, there has been an explosion of interest in the transaction of business by interconnected computers linked together in formal networks. The greatest interest is directed to the largest network today, known as the Internet. The Internet is in fact a compilation of smaller linked networks all providing essentially free public access to a wealth of information, stored at individual sites managed by numerous participants on the Internet. The Internet has already changed in dramatic fashion many of the ways people communicate, collect, and share information. More will certainly come, as a greater percentage of our population become comfortable with the machinations required to access and communicate with others on the Internet.
Of particular interest is the World Wide Web, or what is now more often abbreviated as the "web". The web is a collection of interconnected computers forming an important subset of the Internet. Due to its graphic capabilities, the web is fast becoming the focal point of all Internet communications, which are enhanced by the use of hyperlinks (or "links") interconnecting web sites to other sites using a special protocol. This protocol employs a common software structure predicated on the use of the computer code known as hypertext markup language or HTML. A link is created with this form of programming language by having a word in a text field (or a graphic image on a web page) linked to the location of another web page, via a string of information setting forth, at a minimum, the new web page address presented in hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).
USERS access these web pages with an application program known as a browser; the two most popular are Navigator.RTM. by Netscape.RTM. Corp. and Explorer.RTM. by Microsoft.RTM. Corp. By clicking on the highlighted text (or specific graphic image), the USER'S connection to the current web page is transferred to the new web page address associated with the link--with the new page displayed on the screen. This powerful tool permits the USER to "surf the web" by clicking on an almost endless succession of links going to page after page all following a common thread as defined by the text or graphic component of the link label.
For example, if the word unicorn was highlighted on one web page, the USER'S selection of that word would lead to a new page having some connection (strong or weak) to the highlighted concept. A similar link may be created using a graphic image of a unicorn. In either case, the selection of the topic causes the new web page address to be inserted into the browser command line for execution.
One of the greatest promises for the Internet and, in particular, the web, involves its use as a vehicle of commerce. The enhanced communication, rich text, and graphic environment makes the web ideal for supporting a wide variety of transactions, with many of the features of a large collection of separate stores, such as a mall or similar, but with the ability to extensively shop a number of competing chains in an instant. By hopping between competing merchants on the web, the consumer is able to obtain a good price with minimal difficulty, i.e., no hassles for parking, surly store clerks, poor inventory, etc. With the use of secured credit cards or similar, the web consumer has many capabilities that his sidewalk counterpart is lacking.
Notwithstanding these advantages, commerce on the web has been moving at a snail's pace. Much of the problem lies in the sheer volume of information (there are currently over a million sites on the web) and the inability for the various merchants to get out the message on their products and services effectively or efficiently, thus leaving the merchant's corresponding web sites that comprise the critical information largely unknown to the general public. This problem has been exacerbated by the exponential growth in the number of web site pages in existence--all seeking visitors--and, in so doing, diluting the audience.
In an attempt to rectify this problem, there has been a recent effort to expand USER knowledge of various merchant's on the web by use of traditional advertising that is adapted to web strictures. For example, the use of glossy banner ads touting a product or service has now become reasonably common at a number of popular sites. These banners combine graphics and text into an appealing display triggering interest in the USER as they visit the site displaying the banner. By clicking on the banner, the USER is transported by the magic of the web to the Merchant site associated with the banner. This site is the merchant's web page, and provides all the information needed by the USER to partake in the merchant's goods and services. If inclined, after arriving at the merchant's site, the USER may order one or more products from the merchant and pay using an encrypted credit card number. Importantly, the USER would never have located the merchant but for the banner ad, and the merchant would not have booked the nascent sale without the USER'S access to the merchant's web site, via the banner ad. Accordingly, the commerce created by the banner ad or similar promotional based links is of increasing importance in allowing merchants to transact on the Internet.
Notwithstanding this importance, the systems in place to allow the use of referral based electronic commerce are archaic at best. Presently, the use of banners or similar at high traffic points on the web is supported by a fee based system that imprecisely gauges the level of use of the ads by visiting USERS. Typically, the cost for placing a banner is tied to the number of accesses as measured by CPM's (cost per thousand accesses). The merchant is thereafter charged a fee tied to this access level. This, however, fails to measure the much more vital success ratio of those accesses. More importantly, the tracking of accesses is non-standardized and without verification. Lacking these key attributes has retarded the expanded use of promotion based revenues for the content providers, who remain mired in raising revenues through subscription or CPM based approaches that continue to evidence significant consumer resistance. In turn, merchants have been skeptical about conducting commerce on public networks.
It was with the foregoing understanding that the present invention was made.